Bag top aligning device



March 2 1 G. A. INGLESON ETAL 3,241,290

BAG TOP ALIGNING' DEVICE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 2 1963 I l 7 HIM Inventors Gordon Albert INGLESUN Norman Do i more SOMERS Agent March 1966 G. A. INGLESON ETAL 3,241,290

BAG 'IOP ALIGNING DEVICE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 "F led May 2, 196-3 Inventors Gordon Albert INGLESONI Norman Dulimore SOMERS Agent March 22, 9 G. A. INGLESON ETAL 3,241,290

BAG TOP ALIGNING DEVICE 4Sheecs-Sheet :5

Filed May 2, 1963 11 I h l l l l l H M Inventors Gordon Albert INGLESUN Norman Dulimore SOMEIRS March 22, 1966 INGLESQN ETAL 3,241,299

BAG TOP ALIGNING DEVICE Filed May 2, 1963 4 Sheets-$heet 4.

Inventors Gordon Albert INGLESDN Norman Dulimore SOMERS Agent United States Patent 3 Claims. (c1. 53-371 This invention relates to a device or apparatus for allgning the top edges of a partially filled open mouthed bag prior to its closure by well known means.

In the art of filling bags with granular or powdery materials, it is customary to ensure that the bags, after they have been filled, have their top edges aligned in order that they subsequently be adequately closed or sealed.

This aligning operation, if performed manually, is expensive from the standpoint of labour charges. In addition the aligning operation is limited by the speed of the operator thereby tending to create a production bottleneck. Furthermore, a certain proportion of manually aligned bag tops will become misaligned when fed into the bag closing machine causing wastage and lost time.

It is the primary object of this invention to provide an aligning device for bag tops whereby the aligning operation is performed automatically in a simple and economic manner. Additional objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

The bag top aligning device of this invention can best be described by reference to the accompanying drawings wherein the same reference characters designate the same par-ts in the several views and wherein:

FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4 are schematic side elevation views of one embodiment of the device at different stages of its operations;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view showing one practical embodiment of the essential features of the device;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a horizontal sectional view taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a detailed sectional view of the aligning pin and its retaining means as shown in FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the electrical and pneumatic control circuits and switch means therein for the various parts of the device.

eferring now in detail to the drawings and more particularly to FIGS. 5, 6, 7 and 8 thereof, 1 designates a plastic bag which is carried on a conveyor 3, provided with guide partitions 12, from a filling device represented by hopper 2 to a closing device 23 provided with intake chain 24. After the filling of the bag with granular or powdery materials is completed, the open mouthed bag is moved along on conveyor 3 beneath aligning pins 4 and 5 slidably extendable and retractable by air cylinders 6 and 7 provided with air inlets 13 and 14. Cylinders 6 and 7 are slidably mounted on rods 8 and 9 running towards closing device 23 in a direction parallel to that of conveyor 3. Attached to each of cylinders 6 and 7 through cables 17 and 18 moving over rolls 19 and 20 are diiferential counterweights and 11 sliding inside tubes .and 16, the heavier counterweight 11 being attached to cylinder 7. Located between rods 8 and 9 is piston 21 slidably extendlable and retractable by air cylinder 22 and adapted to free cylinders 6 and 7 to move along rods 8 and 9 when aligning pins 4 and 5 are extended into the open mouth of the bag and to move 3,241,290 Patented Mar. 22, 1966 cylinders 6 and 7 to their original positions when alignmg pms 4 and 5 are retracted within said cylinders.

In operation, empty plastic bags 1 (FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4) are filled with granular or powdery materials from hopper 2. The filled open mouthed bag is then moved along on conveyor 3 and contacts electrical switch 30. The switch 30 (FIG. 9) actuates a double solenoid air control 33 which directs air under pressure from an air supply (not shown) into air line 34 and then simultaneously through trap valve 35 and air inlets 14 to cylinder 22 and cylinders 6 and 7 respectively causing piston 21 to be retracted by cylinder 22 and aligning pins 4 and 5 to extend into the open mounth of the bag underneath. Piston 21 being retracted by cylinder 22, cylinder 7 is then free to move along rods 8 and 9 under the influence of heavier counterweight 11 attached thereto through cable 18 over rolls 20, until extended aligning pin 5 contacts the inside forward edge of the bag being carried on conveyor 3. Cylinder 6 is held back by lighter counterweight 10 attached thereto through cable 17 over rolls 19 until the inside rear edge of the bag moves forward and contacts extended pin '4. counterweights 10 and 11 acting in opposite directions, cause aligning pins 4 and 5 to tension the top edges of the bag into alignment, the difference between the counterweights being such that the top edges of the bag are maintained aligned during movement of the bag on conveyor 3 towards closing device 23 (FIGS. 3 .and 4) until the top edges of the bag are engaged by chain 24 of closing device 23. Retaining means 6 then contacts electrical switch 31 and air under pressure (FIG. 9) is directed through solenoid air control 33 from an air supply (not shown) into air line 36 and then simultaneously through inlet. 37 and inlets 13 into cylinders 22 and cylinders 6 and 7 respectively thereby causing piston rod 21 to extend from cylinder 22 and to push back cylinders 6 and 7 to their original positions while aligning pins 4 and 5 are retracted within cylinders 6 and 7. The following filled open mouthed bag on conveyor 3 then contacts switch 30 and the operative cycle is repeated.

The above description has been made with reference to one practical embodiment of the invention. It is to be understood that changes to any parts of equipment described, such as for instance, the use of mechanical means instead of pneumatic cylinders 22 and 6 and 7, are comprised within the scope of the invention. Also comprised within the invention is the use of springs instead of the counterweights 10 and 11.

What We claim is:

1. In a bag filling and closing apparatus comprising filling and closing means the improvement which comprises a bag top aligning device located. between said filling and closing means and comprising in combination a means for conveying a filled bag; a pair of pin retaining means positioned above said bag conveying means, slidably mounted on rods said rods extending towards said closing means in a direction parallel to that of the movement of the bag from said filling means to said closing means; individual pins slidably extendable and retractable within said pin retaining means and adapted to enter the open mouth of the bag; differential counterweights individually attached to each of said pin retaining means, the heavier counterweight being adapted to effect movement of the pin retaining means to which it is attached in the direction of the movement of the bag .and the difference between the counterweights being such that the top edges of the bag are extended and aligned when equibilibrium between the counterweight forces is attained; and holding means adapted to retain said pin retaining means in their original position near said filling 3 means when the aligning pins are retracted therein and to release said pin retaining means for movement along said rods under the influence of the differential counterweights and that of the movement of the bag towards said closing means when said aligning pins are extended into the open mouth of said bag.

2. The improvement claimed in claim 1, wherein the pin retaining means are pneumatic cylinders.

3. The improvement claimed in claim 1 wherein the holding means is a piston rod extendable and retractable within a pneumatic cylinder.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,114,622 4/1938 Bergstein 53 373 2,840,964 7/1958 Kissling 53373X FRANK BAILEY, Primary Examiner.

P. H. POHL, Examiner. 

1. IN A BAG FILLING AND CLOSING APPARATUS COMPRISING FILLING AND CLOSING MEANS THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES A BAG TOP ALIGNING DEVICE LOCATED BETWEEN SAID FILLING AND CLOSING MEANS AND COMPRISING IN COMBINATION A MEANS FOR CONVEYING A FILLED BAR; A PAIR OF PIN RETAINING MEANS POSITIONED ABOVE SAID BAG CONVEYING MEANS, SLIDABLY MOUNTED ON RODS SAID RODS EXTENDING TOWARDS SAID CLOSING MEANS IN A DIRECTION PARALLEL TO THAT OF THE MOVEMENT OF THE BAG FROM SAID FILLING MEANS TO SAID CLOSING MEANS; INDIVIDUAL PINS SLIDABLY EXTENDABLE AND RETRACTABLE WITHIN SAID PIN RETAINING MEANS AND ADAPTED TO ENTER THE OPEN MOUTH OF THE BAG; DIFFERENTIAL COUNTERWEIGHTS INDIVIDUALLY ATTACHED TO EACH OF SAID PIN RETAINING MEANS, THE HEAVIER COUNTERWEIGHT BEING ADAPTED TO EFFECT MOVEMENT OF THE PIN RETAINING MEANS TO WHICH IT IS ATTACHED IN THE DIRECTION OF THE MOVEMENT OF THE BAG AND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE COUNTERWEIGHTS BEING SUCH THAT THE TOP EDGES OF THE BAG ARE EXTENDED AND ALIGNED WHEN EQUIBILIBRIUM BETWEEN THE COUNTERWEIGHT FORCES IS ATTAINED; AND HOLDING MEANS ADAPTED TO RETAIN SAID PIN RETAINING MEANS IN THEIR ORIGINAL POSITION NEAR SAID FILLING MEANS WHEN THE ALIGNING PINS ARE RETRACTED THEREIN AND TO RELEASE SAID PIN RETAINING MEANS FOR MOVEMENT ALONG SAID RODS UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE DIFFERENTIAL COUNTERWEIGHTS AND THAT OF THE MOVEMENT OF THE BAG TOWARDS SAID CLOSING MEANS WHEN SAID ALIGNING PINS ARE EXTENDED INTO THE OPEN MOUTH OF SAID BAG. 